off 0-w /t)f; NAmE a:f; a:f/ adv., prep., adj., noun, verb k adv. liliU For the special uses of off in phrasal verbs, look
at the entries for the verbs. For example come off is in the phrasal verb
section at come.
* off
come off come
1
away from a place; at a distance in space or time fljfTF ( S&h
) ; ( 04|h]^£|b]±
) I®,
I
called him but he ran off. ft^-ftfe,
ftftfeg&ftTo 0 Sarah’s off in
/ must be off soon (= leave). 0 Off
you go! # BE! o
Summer’s not
far off now. JT ft B iS /E HU T o o A solution is still some way off.
MN"
0 0 2 used to say that sth has been removed (
1) : He’s had his beard shaved off. life
im-TMnr0
o Take your coat off. MT ftftHEo o Don’t leave the toothpaste with the top
off. ft# 4? M ± Mo 3 starting a race They’re off (= the race has
begun), life infers To 4 no longer going to
happen; cancelled ft : The wedding is off.
ft ® To 5 not connected
or functioning ftXft: The water is off. fcfl o Make sure
the TV is off. 6 (especially BrE) (of an item on
a menu % ft (ft
® @) no longer available or being served ; ftfi^iT Sorry, the duck is off. Xftft^B, ^TlfeftiTo 7 away from work or duty
ft#E; ftciT She’s
off today. ft ft ft fl 0 o I’ve got three days off next week. ft,-ft M ft H ft ft 110
0 How many days did
you take off? ftftT Jlftfll? 0 I need some time off. ft
fr^ftH—8 taken from the price jgffrW; $J iff (ft : shoes with $20 off M iff 20 ft (ft $£ o AZZ shirts have/are 10% off. Mftft 10%„ 9 behind or at
the sides of the stage in
a theatre ft JgiJ KSqWlsffi ( ) H’iZI offstage fTiTCI be
well/better/badly,
etc. off used to say how much
money sb has (
N, ) : Families will be
better off under the new law (= will have more money). ft ® §t ft
ft # ft ft flc o 0 They are both comfortably off (= have enough
money to be able to buy what they want without worrying too much about the
cost), life ill IMXtSf&lgjtto be better/worse off (doing sth) to be in a better or
worse situation ( 1$ ® ) ft & if
/
jf: She’s better off
without him. life ft ft # i£ ftfe H '|£ ft: 0
o The weather was so bad we’d have been better off staying at home. ft^ftfST-, $cll'MJi#ft^Mifc£FTo 0 We can’t be any
worse off than we are already. ft-fi'llft T. be ,off for 'sth (informal) to
have a particular amount of sth ft — ft M (K) ffi: How are we off for
coffee (= how much do we have)? ft 111xE ft =£ ft iO^? —see also badly off ,off and on/ on and ‘off
from
time to time; now and again ftflf Hfe; ^ ;
®r HrHHitfe: It rained on and off all day. M
Iri^iTT-l^,
■
prep. i:i^u For the special uses of off in phrasal verbs, look
at the entries for the verbs. For example take sth off sth is in the phrasal verb
section at take.
* off ft M ftfl take sth off sth
ftisj^ take 1 down or away from a
place or at a distance in
space or time AA ( ^
T; '&4f; ( fe: I fell off the ladder. ftAA
if illTT^o o Keep off the grass! if! 0
an island off the coast of
They
were still 100 metres off the summit. 1M11® lil®xE ft 100 o Scientists are still a long way off
finding
a cure. f4^^fti!j —ft'ft7Tft&, 0 We’re
getting right off the subject. ftlH^ft/ijMTo' 2
leading away from sth, for example a road or room ^ ft ; ii $: We live off
—^
ft o 4 away from work or duty T ffi;
fftH: He’s had ten
days off school. llfeftftftlS;±^To 5 away
from a price fin M ■ ■ • iff ^; h'J iff; ft If: They knocked £500 off the car. life
id M & ffi H
&
ft iff 500 6 off of (non-standard or NAmE, informal) off; from ^ ft; ftMT; Ik: I got it off of my brother. iiHf&AA
& ft ft ffl M # M o 7 not wanting or liking
sth that
you usually eat or use f
i; : I’m off (= not
drinking) alcohol for a week, f^ft T 0 o
He’s
finally off drugs (= he no longer takes them). Itfe^f TlE#l«To-
■
adj. [not before noun] 1 (of food ft ^}) no longer fresh enough to eat or
drink T §j : This fish has
gone off. O The milk smells off.
o o It’s off. 2 ~ (with sb)
{informal, especially BrE) not polite or
friendly Tfttft; T8Vl#; Iffik- He was a bit off with me this morning, life 3 {informal, especially BrE) not acceptable T it
X; MMM S ; Tlf : It’s a bit off expecting us to work on Sunday. itSclf]
W, SPWTftTrnfio
unoun [sing.] the off the start of a race
^2]Z&: They’re ready for the off. {MlTo
m verb [VN] {informal, especially NAmE) to kill sb ft fc ( ft
ft) '
off- /of;
NAmE o:f; a:f/ prefix (in nouns,
adjectives, verbs and adverbs ®la]§!] is]) not
on;
away from ftft - ±; ift; offstage ftftH^X
0
offload
,
off-'air adj. (in radio and television T‘ M ft ffe 11) not being broadcast
TftftMTfJ: off-air
recording 11 ft]# f*n3 on-air ►
,off-'air adv.: to record off-air
offal /'nfl;
NAmE 'o:fl; 'a:fl/ noun [U] {US also va'riety meats [pi.]) the inside
parts of an animal, such as the heart and liver,
cooked and eaten as food ( ftffl W )
off-beat /.nfbiit;
NAmE ,o:f-; ,a:f-/ adj. [usually before noun] (informal) different from what
most people expect ft ##ltt; ft?£l§«lft; S33 unconven
tional : offbeat humour % ^ |$ ® o an offbeat approach to interviewing
.off-1
Broadway adj. {NAmE) 1 (of a theatre
jgij[^) not on Broadway, New York’s main theatre district ftftft^ft W; ftfti X
#J 2 (of a play >M) unusual in some way and often by a new writer
ft^f^fft; ftiffE; fh ^ ff ftft.ft6lJ
— compare fringe theatre ,off-'centre {BrE) {NAmE ,off-'center) adv., adj. not exactly in the
centre of sth ftjg ft 'off chance noun 1771771 do
sth on the off chance to do sth even though you think that there
is only a small possibility of it being successful —-1st; #mft: She
scanned the crowd on the off chance of seeing someone
she knew, mm'xm, <>
1
called in at the office on the off chance that you would
still be there. MlflS
Mo
,off 'colour {BrE) {NAmE ,off 'color) adj. 1 [not before noun] {BrE, informal) not in good health;
looking or feeling ill/sick MW ft ® IK; ^feftli; ft® 2 [usually before noun] {especially NAmE) an off-colour joke is
one that people think is rude, usually because it is about sex ( )
Mr#j, TM
off-cut /'nfkAt;
NAmE 'oif-; 'a:f-/ noun {especially BrE) a piece of wood,
paper, etc. that remains after the main
piece has been cut ft p >14; ffi U 44
'off day noun
{informal) a day when you do not do things as well as usual
ftjl® f ij 0 ft; [S'JSW—ft , off-'duty adj. not at work IMS W] tf) ; Ifc ftj : an off-duty policeman
offence o-w (BrE) {NAmE of-fense) /a'fens/ noun 1 [C] ~ (against sb/sth) an illegal act
jft&Trft; P
ft H771 crime : a criminal/serious/minor/sexual, etc. offence SP, o
a first
offence
{- the first time that
sb has been found guilty of a crime) capital offence (= one for which sb may
be punished by death) :^E Ho He was not aware that he had committed
an offence. flfeftft'EillPJ ^ B4EPTo o an offence against
society/humanity/the state jff ft 4t^/ft^/ffl^WIPft 0 New legislation makes it an
offence to carry guns. ftlftMEHft fto 2 [U]
the act of upsetting or
insulting sb U^E; -ftft;; $5#: I’m sure he meant no offence when he said that, ft